Why are cars sold in other countries so much more fuel efficient than in the US?!

[Ryland]

We also have a government that is run by corporations, back in the 1970's the American automakers grew tired of small imports taking over so they pushed for "safer" vehicles, crash tests that favored large vehicles and standards that cost so much to test that you'd have to sell huge numbers of vehicles to make it worth while.
America also still has really dirty fuel, fuel dirty enough that most vehicles from countries with emission standards can not run on our fuel, so we need extra emissions equipment to clean up the exhaust.

We are also a country where a vehicle can be rubbed out by an auto magazine giving it a few bad reviews, the writers of auto magazines tend to make 16 year old boys look like perfect calm drivers in comparison, if the car doesn't snap you back in your seat while handling like a Cadillac then they say it's a piece of junk that is not fit for the road and possibly a safety hazard, so we need to be sold the most powerful versions of any vehicle possible.

Combine all of those together and you get bad gas mileage.

[MetroMPG]

Put up your hand if you're OK with having a small car that takes 14 seconds or longer to get to 60 mph.

*Puts up hand. Doesn't see (m)any other hands going up.*

Though this is a symptom of the larger issues, not a cause.

Case in point: here, the new Mirage gets a 74hp, 1.2L engine (0-60 in ~12 sec for the manual). It will be heartily mocked by most reviewers and even semi-gearheads. In Europe/Japan, a slower 1.0L engine option is also available in the car, and several reviewers have said they actually prefer it over the 1.2.

[user removed]

I quit reading Auto Rags many years ago to the point where the frist time I see many new models of cars is when I pass a dealership.

Drove a Bug Eyed Sprite and got 32 MPG in 1968. Bought a new CRX 1.5 in 1983 and got 44 MPG average. For most of my driving life I have been mileage conscious.

My Fiesta will probably be replaced by another Fiesta, hopefully a properly geared ecoboost 2 door model when one comes up at a salvage auction in the next couple of years. MY Ranger is #2 of the trucks in this sites garage entries. My bike is among the top ten. It's not quite as efficient as some but it is capable of Interstate riding in a very congested part of the country. Check my fuel logs and you will see both of those vehicles get a tank fill about once a month. There are many here who do much better than that.

Think about the amount of money the US spends on imported oil and how much better our economy would be if we took the actions necessary to eliminate that trade deficit. Approximately 300 billion in today's dollars every year for the last several decades (factor for inflation). Back to the late 70s to early 80s when we started importing the majority of our oil. Deposited in our banking system that's 3 trillion a year in new capital for over 30 years. You just paid off the national debt.

I have been advocating new technology for the last 15 years including my own design, You would be amazed how hard it is to introduce new technology to the automotive market in the US.

I see people buying new trucks. I can only assume they have no control of their appetite for gluttony, living from paycheck to paycheck is a fools play in this age of alternatives. My wife and I have exercised economic frugality for decades and the compounding of those savings is exceptional and has resulted in us being debt free (long term) for almost two decades, saving hundreds of thousands of dollars in interest never given a chance to compound.

In that time we have watched gross economic irresponsibility on a national scale in the US, to the point where irresponsibility is rewarded when it should be de-incentivised to the extreme.

regards
Mech

[justme1969]

A sad fact is thier also us manufacturers I seen a ford ranger 4x4 that had a 2.3l diesel and this thing was awesome good power and gas mileage.
We here in America get a 6.9 7.3 6.2 diesel with horrible mileage because it is believed that a truck must be able to pull a tree down to be any good at all.
Dihatsu was supposed to bring us a 2.0L 4 cyl diesel truck and never did it.

[Vekke]

I am not ok for 0-100 over 14 secs. Original lupo took that long and it was too much in overtaking situations on finnish roads...

I prefer to be in the range of 9-12 secs on regular driving but its possible to get figures like under 7 seconds but still reach 117 MPG as I am trying to prove on my Lupo project. Its all about what you need and want from your car. You cannot have everything, but you can have fun (power and handling) and very good fuel consumption.

What I need to sacrifice is mainly comfort related issues.

To Knackerton translation of what I ment to write in Finnish:
Can`t you afford to drive faster with your truck? = Eikö ole varaa ajaa maasturilla kovempaa? Yleensä ne tien tukot motarilla on noita katumaastureita, eli on ollut varaa juuri ostaa se iso maasturi, muttei varaa polttoaineisiin.

So I did not mean those ligth trucks as you are referring to, but that plan is not still fully decided what will be the final words.

[PaleMelanesian]

Originally Posted by AaronMartinSole

Take for instance the Seat Ibiza Ecomotive rated at 80.7 mpg,
or the Ford Fiesta ECOnetic rated at 78 mpg,
or the Volkswagen Polo BlueMotion rated at 74.3 mpg.

(I do believe those are imperial measurements, which would translate to: 67mpg, 65mpg, and 62mpg, US).

You also have to consider the difference in the mileage tests. The Euro tests give higher numbers than the US EPA test. It's not a direct percent change, it varies by vehicle, but the difference is in the 10-15% range I believe.

60 mpg, 58 mpg, 56 mpg are the most comparable numbers. The most efficient cars available here are two Prius variants, both rated at 50 mpg.

[niky]

The current NEDC is a joke compared to the EPA tests.

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0-100 km/h in 14 seconds makes overtaking difficult? Well, refer to my Rule #1:

Rule #1: if the other guy is so darned hard to overtake, he's going fast enough. Time to settle down and draft him all the way to the next multi-lane section where passing is possible.

My daily driver hits 60 mph in about 25 seconds. I've never had any problems driving on the highway and keeping up with 65 mph traffic.

Over the years, I've owned or run cars with 0-100 km/h times from 8 seconds (approximately 7.6s 0-60 mph) to 30 seconds. Most of my rides have taken between 12-14 seconds to hit 100 km/h. It's never been an issue... except when trying to overtake eighteen-wheelers going up a winding mountain pass in a four-speed automatic two-ton van with a measly 75 horses. (refer back to Rule #1)

[Frank Lee]

^Exactly.

[MetroMPG]

Originally Posted by niky

My daily driver hits 60 mph in about 25 seconds. I've never had any problems driving on the highway and keeping up with 65 mph traffic.

OK, I don't think I've seen you mention this one yet. What is it?

[jakobnev]

I'm guessing it's a rickshaw.